A PAIR of brothers have been cleared of attacking a customer at a pub which they used to run in Okehampton.

Kosta and Vladimir Vukov were found not guilty of assault and affray after telling a jury at Exeter Crown Court they were acting in self defence when they punched Jamie Atherton.

The brothers, who were born in Macedonia, told the jury Mr Atherton had spat at them and called them ‘f***ing foreigners’ during a confrontation on the Pretoria Vaults pub.

They said they acted pre-emptively because they knew Mr Atherton had a criminal record which included two assaults and believed he was about to lash out at them.

Kosta Vukov, aged 38 of Okehampton, and Vladimir Vukov, aged 33 of Exeter, both denied assault causing grievous bodily harm, an alternative of actual bodily harm and affray.

They were both found not guilty by the jury and discharged by Recorder Mr Timothy Grice. During a four day trial, the prosecution alleged the violence arose from a previous disagreement between Kosta and Jamie Atherton’s brother Wayne.

Mr Atherton said Kosta asked him for a fight and punched him on the nose after he responded by telling him to f*** off and making a one finger gesture.

He alleged Vladimir stepped in and took up the attack after his brother was dragged off him and he ended up with a badly broken nose which needed two operations to repair.

The jury were shown a ten minute CCTV clip taken from the other side of the bar in which it was possible to make out there was a fight but impossible to see the details.

The footage did show Mr Atherton apparently throwing something just before the violence broke out.

Both brothers told the jury they came to Britain when they were young and had grown up in this country, where they have both enjoyed successful careers in business. They had previously run the Pretoria Vaults but are now involved in other ventures.

They said they hit Mr Atherton because they knew he was a violent man and believed he was about to attack them. They said their fears were increased by his spitting at Kosta and shouting at them and calling them ‘f***ing foreigners’.